


Not as Bad as I Thought

by highqualitynot



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AcaDeca Team, Established Relationship, Fluff, Juice Boxes, Multi, No Endgame, No Infinity War, No Spider-Man FFH (because i haven't seen it), Precious Peter Parker, except morgan is there because i love her, field trip fic, in this house we ignore canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 06:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highqualitynot/pseuds/highqualitynot
Summary: In summary, Peter Parker was 100% fucked.He had walked into Academic Decathlon practice that afternoon, sat down right next to Ned, as usual, and got ready to shout answers at MJ when the teacher stopped everything.It was 3:30pm when AcaDeca started, and only three minutes passed before Peter’s whole face turned tomato red. He shut his eyes in horror as Mr. Harrington described the field trip they would be taking.To Stark Tower.





	Not as Bad as I Thought

**Author's Note:**

> honestly i thought this was gonna be G rated but then i used ctrl f and there were more fucks than i anticipated?? so it's T.
> 
> this definitely is a weird little one-shot. it's pretty similar to other field trip fics, but with pre-established parkner. also it's weird to write bc it doesn't line up with my twitter fic, and it definitely DOES NOT line up with the multi-chapter parkner fic that i plan to release the first chapter of in a week or two. 
> 
> it was hard to connect all the cameos together, too, so the style feels uncomfortably stiff. this is why infinity war was bad isn't it?? its too many characters to keep track of. aaaaaahhhh. not the biggest fan of this piece. 
> 
> but it is complete, and reworking it probably wouldn't improve the stylistic issues enough to make a noticeable difference, and i like the parkner bits, so here it is. 
> 
> i hope you enjoy it anyway!

In summary, Peter Parker was 100% fucked.

He had walked into Academic Decathlon practice that afternoon, sat down right next to Ned, as usual, and got ready to shout answers at MJ when the teacher stopped everything. 

It was 3:30pm when AcaDeca started, and only three minutes passed before Peter’s whole face turned tomato red. He shut his eyes in horror as Mr. Harrington described the field trip they would be taking. 

To Stark Tower. 

Peter groaned in absolute agony, sending looks of pure desperation to Ned, MJ and Betty.

“They’re gonna embarrass me so much,” he whispered. 

Ned beamed like the cruel, unforgiving person he was. “It's gonna be really funny.”

“Why do you hate me?” Peter asked, his cheeks bright from blushing. 

“Would you like to share with everybody, Peter?” Mr. Harrington interrupted. 

“I’m sure Parker’s just scared his fake internship is gonna be exposed,” Flash smirked. He sat on the other side of the room to Peter, but by God did Peter want to stand up and throttle him. 

Sure, the internship was actually a cover for being Spider-Man, but Peter was legitimately a big deal at Stark Industries. While he knew Tony, Harley and the Avengers would do anything to embarrass him, he also took some pride in the knowledge that Flash might finally get what was coming to him.

After AcaDeca had ended, Peter threw the field trip papers in his bag and turned to Ned. “Should I even go? Is there a way to not go?”

“You have to go!” Ned shouted. A few other students turned to him. He apologized, then continued to talk to Peter in a quieter voice. “Okay, not just because it’ll be hilarious. But also because I want to see Flash proven wrong. And you get to miss a whole day of classes.”

Peter absolutely wanted to skip class. And prove Flash wrong. “Okay. I’ll go.”

\---

After patrol that night, Peter decided to swing by Stark Tower. Tony did tours, but it was definitely rare for Academic Decathlon teams to go exploring the headquarters of Stark Industries. 

Peter figured Tony, and probably Harley, too, were up to something. He swung to the rooftop and headed to the door. Once inside, he pulled off his mask and said hello to FRIDAY, scanning his access card.

Harley was waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase, a gleeful smile on his face. 

“Hey, princess,” Peter said, giving him a light kiss. “How’d you know I’d be by?”

“Well, Tony told me the most interesting thing about one of the tours comin’ here this Friday,” Harley smirked like the evil being he was. 

Peter sighed, exhausted. “Why are you like this?”

“I take pleasure in other people’s pain,” Harley said as they stepped into the main Avengers area. He sat down precariously on an office chair, sprawled over the arms. 

“Why do you want to see me suffer?” Peter moaned, collapsing into a mountain of pillows on the couch. 

It was at this moment that Tony “The Absolute Worst” Stark entered the room. He sat on the couch, right next to Peter and patted his head a few times. “There, there. I want to see you suffer far more than _anyone_ else.”

Peter summoned a glare from within his pillow fortress. Tony laughed. “Peter, your AcaDeca team will have a wonderful tour. And if I personally asked all of the Avengers I could find available on Friday to come in and embarrass you, I’m not really sorry.”

Peter turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “I really regret letting Aunt May sign that form.”

\---

Friday came faster the more Peter dreaded it. Though the school week typically felt like forever, in this case class time seemed to vanish, and Peter had few encounters on patrol.

He did Thursday movie night with Harley as usual, which ended in cuddling to the final scenes of Dirty Dancing (Harley’s pick, surprisingly). Peter bemoaned his fate, but his boyfriend just laughed harder at his predicament.

“Show off for once in your life,” Harley told him. “It’ll be great. And you can introduce me to that bastard Flash so I can ruin him.”

Peter rolled his eyes, then kissed Harley until he was dizzy, flushed and mumbling “What was I saying?” in a dazed voice. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but I kinda like flying under the radar at school.”

“Consider this, though. Most of ‘em think you’re lyin’ about the internship. They’ll have to believe you tomorrow when you know everyone & have access to everywhere, sweetheart,” Harley said. When he was distracted, he slurred his words and his Tennessee accent came out more. He stroked his thumb over Peter’s cheekbone softly. 

Peter smiled. It quickly turned into a frown when he remembered what Mr. Stark had said. “But Tony invited as many heroes as he could find to come make fun of me! I really wish I could just be homeschooled like you, sometimes.”

“He isn't doin’ it just to embarrass you,” Harley murmured. “He cares about you, and he's probably gonna make you look really awesome.” 

Peter kissed his thanks instead of saying it. 

\---

It was 8:30am and the bus was full of AcaDeca students. Flash was entertaining himself and his posse of idiocy with a paper airplane, a PS4 controller and a generous dosage of calling Peter a liar. MJ was entirely absorbed in her book; she only looked up to ask them random questions as practice. Ned and his girlfriend Betty sat on one side of the bus, while Peter sat in the seat across from them, facetiming Shuri.

“Well the interesting thing is that… I’m in New York right now.”

“You’re what?” Peter exclaimed. “Why didn't you say so? You can finally meet MJ. You two just thirst over twitter and it’s physically painful to watch.”

“I’m in town because a certain Tony Stark asked my brother to come to Stark Tower. And I came too,” Shuri said.

“I hate this,” Peter grumbled. “Plus he’s literally only doing this to embarrass me.” 

“You do that plenty well on your own, Peter,” Shuri rolled her eyes. “It’ll be fun. I promise I probably won't light a lab on fire while you’re here.”

“Probably?” Peter shouted, but Shuri had already hung up. 

“It’s gonna be great, Peter,” Ned told him, though he was barely paying attention, far too distracted by a joke Betty had cracked moments before.

“I don't believe you at all.”

After another ten minutes of Abe Brown telling jokes about dating Black Widow and Betty telling everyone who would listen that she was going to get the next big superhero scoop, they pulled up at Stark Tower.

Peter spent a lot of his time there, but typically came in on the roof, rather than from the ground. He had almost forgotten how tall and intimidating buildings like Stark Tower could be, at least from the perspective of someone on the ground and not a superhero that could swing around New York City. 

“Alright everybody, we’re here! Exit the bus in a single file line and our tour guide will meet us with our tour access cards in just a moment!” 

Regardless of Harrington’s instructions, the AcaDeca team all tried to escape the bus at once. Peter exited the bus near the end, despite having sat near the front. 

Suddenly, a figure ran in their direction. With his enhanced eyesight, Peter could see the telltale honey blond ponytail, blue eyes, and wicked smile of Harley Keener barreling towards them. He was completely evil and wildly attractive. Peter could only gape as Harley slid to a stop in front of their group.

“Hello Midtown High Academic Decathlon Team!” Harley shouted. “I will be your tour guide today, Harley Keener.” 

He winked suggestively at the crowd. Peter saw a few people swoon a little and rolled his eyes. What an idiot. Hold on, that was _his_ idiot!

“Upon entering Stark Tower, you’ll need an access card, like this bad boy pinned to my shirt,” Harley pointed to his own SILVER level access card. “As a tour group, you’ll each get a WHITE level access card. It’ll work for one time, and one time only, so don't leave and try to come back.”

He was suddenly interrupted by Flash, who asked what each level meant. “There are three tiers; MEDAL, RAINBOW and SHADES. MEDAL levels are the highest. GOLD is for heroes. SILVER indicates residents. BRONZE is for frequent visitors, usually friends & family of the other two levels. Employees are RAINBOW; they have colours like RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE and PURPLE, depending on their rank and role. Visitors get SHADES. Tour groups like y’all get WHITE, and press get BLACK.”

Peter swallowed, hoping nobody would notice his card. It was double-sided, GOLD and BRONZE, for Spiderman and Peter Parker respectively. Ned, MJ and Betty, however, displayed their BRONZE with pride.

“Alright, chop chop! Let’s get a move on, Midtown!” Harley exclaimed. He directed the flow of students towards Stark Tower once he had handed out everyone’s individual WHITE card.

“Welcome to Stark Industries!” Harley announced. FRIDAY welcomed everyone, scanning their access cards one by one. 

“Harley Keener, SILVER. Harley, the Boss Man says he wants you to stop leaving socks everywhere, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Stop taking off your socks and ditching them the moment you enter the building!”

FRIDAY’s robotic voice delivered it monotone, but blaring loud. It left everyone in stitches from laughing so hard.

Peter snorted. Ned, who had dissolved into giggles, grabbed Betty’s arm where she shook with laughter beside him. MJ even smiled a little, which meant she too was infinitely amused. 

Harley blushed a little, but returned to waving the AcaDeca students through the scanners.

“Roger Harrington, WHITE. Dr. Banner would appreciate a call.” 

Mr. Harrington blinked in shock, then nodded. 

Harley began to wave the students through. Eventually, they were down to just five more, starting with Flash. 

“Eugene Thompson, WHITE. On the Douche List. Not permitted to enter.”

Several lights flashed red and alarms went off. Flash turned redder and yelped louder than the alarms themselves.

Harley looked hauntingly like a Cheshire Cat as he swiped his own card and told FRIDAY to override the “Shittalking Policy.” Peter recognized it as something Tony had programmed in; if someone asked the AI to add someone to the Douche List, the system rejected them. He hadn't added Flash, though. Who had?

Flash stood shamefully silent on the other side of the scanner as MJ walked through, scanning her BRONZE card. 

“Michelle Jones, BRONZE. MJ, you left a copy of Pride and Prejudice on the 54th floor.”

MJ nodded in acknowledgment. “I’ll pick it up later, FRIDAY.”

“Edward Leeds, BRONZE. Ned, the Boss Man says your new code has been very helpful.”

Ned beamed in pride. “Thanks, FRIDAY!”

“Elizabeth Brant, BRONZE. Betty, several of your articles are now featured in the Avengers Museum.”

“Really, FRIDAY?” Betty looked absolutely overjoyed to hear the news. “That’s… wow, I’m so honoured.” 

Everyone turned to look expectantly at Peter. Flash in particular looked similar to a shark, all teeth and hunter’s instinct. Peter was a helpless fish by comparison.

Peter reluctantly walked up to the scanner and swiped the BRONZE side of his card. 

“Peter Parker, BRONZE. Peter, the Boss Man says to pick any movie other than Dirty Dancing next week.”

Peter frowned. “Tell Mr. Stark that Harley was the one who picked Dirty Dancing.”

“Why are you exposing me?” Harley demanded. “I thought the goal for today was to embarrass you!”

“That’s cute, princess,” Peter smirked. He was feeling a lot more confident. Without a doubt, he would lose that confidence later on, but at that moment, his focus was on taunting his boyfriend. He sauntered forward to lean on Harley’s shoulder, giving him a little peck on the cheek. 

The AcaDeca Team stared at him as though he was a fly with the wrong Hox genes. This confident, teasing Peter was a far cry from the shy and awkward Peter they all knew. If only they saw how loud and confident he was under the suit! Peter got the sense that they would be staring quite a lot more.

Flash suddenly started to ask Harley more questions. “Is there a way to hack the scanners?”

Harley clearly had to resist rolling his eyes. “I don't know too much about the software here in Stark Industries. There's maybe a few people with the ability to, and trust me, you are not one of them.” 

“Well, who is? Who did Parker pay to get one of those BRONZE thingies, and the AI lady to acknowledge him?”

“Peter didn't pay nobody. Peter’s one of the most important people in this building right now, and I strongly recommend you acknowledge _that._ ,” Harley frowned in pure distaste. His hands clenched, knuckles turning white.

He ignored Flash’s other questions and directed the group into the staircase. 

Peter came up behind him and gently linked their fingers together. “Thanks.”

Harley smiled. This was completely different from his tour guide grin, or his teasing smirk. This was a special smile, one really just for Peter. 

“I didn't like how he talked about you. I knew it was bad, but not that bad,” Harley said. 

“It’s always been like that,” Peter started, but was interrupted by his boyfriend.

“That doesn’t matter! It's awful. He shouldn't say those things to you.” 

Peter bit his lip. “It is what it is. He’s been awful forever.”

Harley frowned. It knit together his eyebrows and made his blue eyes steep in misery. Peter hated seeing it. He gave Harley an encouraging smile, trying his best to convince his boyfriend that it was no big deal, and they walked towards the stairs together.

\---

“Welcome to the Intern Lab! This is where the interns work on their many projects! Take a look!”

The AcaDeca team marvelled at the intern lab. Computer screens covered in code, whiteboards coated in equations. There was a huge board titled ‘The Great Pizza Debate,’ with columns for Pineapple and Not Pineapple. 

Abbie popped head out of one of the labs upon seeing the tour group. “Yo Harls, you busy?” 

Harley pointed at the tour group.

“Right yeah. I’ll ask later,” Abbie said. She turned back to her lab, ignoring the tour group. Something was-

The hair on the back of Peter’s neck stood up. He whirled around to see Shuri holding a miniature apple-pear and a ridiculously massive nerf gun. 

“I don't even want to know, do I?” He said. 

Shuri shrugged. “Come up to the real labs later?” She span on her sneakers and dashed towards the elevator.

“Don’t destroy all the apple pears!” He called after her.

He turned to face a whole Academic Decathlon Team that couldn't believe their eyes. “What?”

“That was Princess Shuri of Wakanda…” MJ sighed dreamily. “She's even more amazing in real life.”

“Stop drooling,” Peter told her. “I’ll properly introduce you later.”

The group continued through the intern labs, stopping to look at robotics projects and equations that looked mildly familiar, if they focused intensely.

“Hi Peter!” Wanda Maximoff said, floating around the corner. 

The Scarlet Witch had come out of nowhere. She put a friendly hand on Peter's shoulder and smiled at the tour group, but Peter knew better. 

“You must be Peter’s AcaDeca team. I’m Wanda, or the Scarlet Witch,” she started, but was interrupted by Vision emerging from around the same corner. 

“Hello, I’m Vision. I used to be the AI in this building, but now I’m an Avenger.”

“So you’re like… part computer?” Flash asked, eyes wide. When Vision nodded, he pulled a water gun out of nowhere and sprayed him in the face. The group gasped in horror. 

“PUT HIM IN RICE! PUT HIM IN RICE!” Peter wailed in the chaos. Vision, however, was perfectly fine. 

“I’m not a cellphone, Peter,” he insisted. Peter shot him a look of disbelief that was cut off by Harley yanking his arm towards the door. 

“Let’s move on to the next floor,” Harley said, ushering the students upstairs.

\---

The Avengers museum took up a ton of space. It had recently been updated to include everyone and everything it could, which meant the first exhibit was Captain Marvel’s.

A replica of her suit sat in a glass case, along with information about it. An explanation of her powers was on a nearby plaque, and a picture of her was below it. A few fun facts were on another plaque; her favourite animal was a flerkin, but in the absence of that, she loved cats. She was the first ever Avenger, because Nick Fury had named the whole initiative after her. And finally, she protected the whole universe, not just Earth, so she wasn't there often. 

Except for that day, because Tony Stark had specifically asked her to come and embarrass Peter. 

“Hi Petes,” Captain Marvel said, stepping out of the corner. “What’s going on here?” 

While the rest of his class stared in awe, Peter groaned and mumbled a “Hi, Ms. Carol.”

Carol smiled. “Want a juicebox, kiddo?”

Peter, despite his anger, still agreed. The apple juice in Stark Tower was to die for. 

She handed him a box with the straw already pushed in. He took a sip and thanked her.

“A juicebox. Really, Parker?” Flash drawled. At least he wouldn't severely insult him with Captain fucking Marvel right there. 

“It.. keeps the juice protected?” Peter stuttered, shifting from one foot to the other rapidly. 

“Juice Boxes are essential,” Carol growled. She looked pretty intimidating at first; the First Avenger with her superpowers and fighting prowess. Peter, however, had made a billion awful jokes with her as a part of her meme education. He had seen Carol Danvers covered in glitter. Peter had forced her to watch all six Sharknado movies. He wasn't scared in any way, but he reveled in watching Flash shrink back. “What if Peter lost some of the juice? That would never happen with a juice box.”

Flash, too afraid to argue or really say anything at all, simply nodded. His eyes were comically wide and he had taken five steps back until he was hiding behind Betty. She immediately stepped aside.

“Enjoy the exhibit, kids,” She beamed. “I’ll see you ‘round, Petes.”

Captain Marvel took her exit by flying out the window, the AcaDeca team gaping after her. 

Harley announced that they could look wherever they wanted in the museum. Everybody ran in different directions, and Ned grabbed Betty, MJ, Harley and Peter, pulling them all towards another exhibit.

“The Spider-Man exhibit? Really, Ned?” Peter asked. It was a nice tribute, he supposed. 

His original suit was in there, along with a card from Mr. Stark that said something absurdly cheesy on it. A replica of his current suit and the Iron Spider suit sat next to it. His own set of fun facts graced a placard; he was terrified of spiders, made his own web fluid, and was one of Mr. Stark’s protégés. Where there had been a picture of Aunt Carol in her exhibit was a sign announcing that Spider-Man was not yet ready to reveal his true identity. Peter smiled. 

“The Spider-Man Exhibit! I feel like such a fake fan; I didn't even know Spider-Man was an Avenger!” Flash announced to his friends as he came into the room. His voice was high and whiny, and Peter clenched his fists in irritation.

Peter grabbed his friends by their sleeves and started dragging them to the exit. His strength meant that they all came with little struggle, but looked miserably at Peter until he stopped. Peter turned back towards the exhibit in frustration.

“He refused at first,” Peter said. “But later joined them.” 

“How do you know that?” Flash demanded. 

“Not worth it,” Betty muttered. “Let’s go look at another exhibit.” 

Peter nodded in agreement. As he turned to leave, his Spidey Sense went off. It was just like with Shuri earlier-

Ant-Man and the Wasp suddenly appeared, growing to a normal size from their previous tiny forms. 

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. He was running out of ways to show his annoyance. 

“Hey kid,” Scott started. “Fancy seeing-”

“I know, I know. Mr. Stark asked you to come embarrass me, you decided you totally wanted to do that, you came, you’ve probably been following us in tiny form the whole time, and now you’re here.” 

Ned smiled awkwardly. “Nice to see you, Ms. and Mr. Wasp.” 

“While I would definitely take her last name, Wasp is her _full_ superhero name,” Scott said, confused. “Superheroes don’t really have last names, I guess.” 

Hope shrugged, leaning lazily on Scott’s shoulder. “You’d still be Mr. Wasp.” 

He shrugged as if to say that was a fair assessment. The buggy duo took their leave, turning tiny again. For all Peter knew, they were still there, but he lost his train of thought quickly. It was time to get the fuck out of there. The Captain America exhibit was next up.

“I wonder how many Avengers are hiding here in the museum,” he mused.

“Surely not too many,” said Captain America as he emerged from behind his suit. 

His boyfriend Bucky held his hand and waved to Peter with a satisfied smirk. Sam Wilson stood in the opposite corner, looking up from his sideways phone to smile at Peter. Peter rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t you roll your eyes!” Ned whisper-yelled. He turned back to Cap with a nervous grin. “So sorry, Mr. Cap… er, sir. Mr. Captain… America. He didn't mean that.”

“I did.”

“He did.”

“I’m very tired of this shit,” Peter grumbled. 

“Hey! Language, Queens,” Steve said. 

“You swear all the time!” Peter complained loudly. Loud enough to draw the attention of the majority of the other students in their vicinity, who all came expecting Peter Parker to get his ass kicked by Captain America. 

Cap gave everyone a charming smile. A few people asked for a selfie, and he agreed. As people began to ask questions, he began to feed them embarrassing facts about Peter. “One time, when I sneezed, Peter said God Bless America.”

Peter laughed. “That was the best joke I’ve ever made.”

Sam spoke next. “Peter suggested the game I’m playing right now.” 

“And that would be?” Peter asked. “I give lots of quality suggestions.”

“Minecraft,” Sam replied. “The best game of all.”

The entire AcaDeca team nodded in agreement. Their teacher, however, looked incredibly confused. Mr. Harrington had no chance to ask what was going on before Betty practically teleported across the room to ask more questions.

“Any comments, Mr. Barnes?” Betty held out her phone, recording the conversation like the skilled reporter she was.

“Yeah,” Bucky said. “Peter’s room in Stark Tower is completely covered in fairy lights. It hurts to look at it.”

Peter rolled his eyes and walked right out of the room. 

\---

It was at last lunchtime during the tour. While typically, Peter brought a lunch (often whatever leftovers he could scrounge up) or stole snacks from his friends, that day he knew he could get something from the Stark Industries Cafeteria. 

It was more like a food court than any cafeteria Peter had ever seen. Classic fast food places lined the area. Tables and chairs covered the center of the fourth floor. As Mr. Stark’s personal intern, he had a card that let him swipe for whatever he wanted from the cafeteria. 

He got some spicy pad thai and went to his regular table. Harley, Ned, MJ and Betty all joined him. 

Shuri came a moment later, screaming her way into the room. She slid right into one of the remaining chairs. “Don’t bother visiting the lab,” she said, breathlessly. Ned pulled a nerf bullet off her shoulder. 

“Are there any apple pears left?” Peter asked nonchalantly. He was disappointed as she shook her head no. 

MJ was staring at Shuri, blushing at the other girl. Peter rolled his eyes. “Shuri, this is-” 

He was cut off by the MJ herself. “Hi, I’m… lesbian.” 

“I thought you were American!” Shuri laughed nervously. She shot Peter a look of pure desperation. He struggled not to laugh. 

“Marry me,” MJ said, so quiet that if Peter didn't have super-hearing he definitely would have missed it.

“What?” 

“Nothing. It’s nice to finally meet you in real life, Shuri,” MJ managed. She smiled, uncomfortable. Peter laughed a little, and sent Harley a look as if to say ‘were we this bad?’ 

MJ and Shuri’s flirting was interrupted by someone else sliding in place behind Shuri.

“Brother,” Shuri started. Black Panther put one hand on her shoulder, and even though his mask didn’t display emotion, he somehow looked very smug indeed. Like… the cat who got the cream. 

T’Challa’s suit melted back into his necklace and his satisfied smirk appeared. “Hi Shuri. Hello everyone. How are you?” 

“Uh, Mr... Panther, I’m doing my AP Capstone project on Wakandan tech and I’m absolutely fascinated by how-” 

T’Challa cut MJ off with a polite wave of his hand. “My amazing, talented, wonderful sister Princess Shuri is far more tech knowledgeable than I am. Surely she is the better target for these questions.” 

Shuri looked at T’Challa with pure betrayal for about half a second, then turned back to MJ. “I, uh, I made his suit. And tons of other Wakandan tech. If you wanna know more about it… I can show you my lab later?” 

MJ looked like she had never been happier, a huge grin filling her normally straight face. “Really!? I... I’d love that!”

T’Challa suited back up, but not before completely messing up Peter’s hair. He waved his goodbye to them, intent on leaving, but was interrupted by a crowd of AcaDeca students all demanding pictures.

“I wonder how many more superheroes are gonna interrupt our meal,” Peter muttered. 

“Is Spider-Man planning to make an appearance?” Harley asked, teasingly. 

“Absolutely not,” he declared, taking a vicious bite of his pad thai, determined to finish it without interruption.

\---

“You saw the intern labs, and now it’s time to turn your attention to the main labs!” Harley gestured to the glass labs around them. “Take a close look & see some amazing Stark tech, cool experiments, everythin’ awesome that happens in here!”

Peter glanced at a few whiteboards. Shuri gestured to her lab and MJ joined her, ecstatic.

He felt it before he heard it and he heard it before he saw it. 

“YOUNG PETER STARK-SON!” Thor bellowed, slapping him on the back. An ordinary kid would have been completely knocked over, but Peter stayed up. 

“Hi Mr. Thor!” Peter greeted him. “What are you doing here?” 

“Just spending some time with my brother and my boyfriend,” Thor replied, at a normal volume.

“You have a boyfriend?” Betty asked. Peter noticed that she had her phone out and was recording the conversation, just like earlier with Steve. Thor had clearly noticed as well.

“Yes, Dr. Bruce Banner!” Thor announced. At the sound of his name, Bruce emerged from the lab. 

“Are we revealing our relationship now?” he asked. Bruce didn't look surprised or upset, not even that shocked. Thor nodded in reply, beaming.

“That’s my boyfriend,” they both said at the same time, pointing at each other.

“Ew, you’re gay?” Flash sneered. The sudden onset of glares that greeted him was expected by everyone but him. 

FRIDAY spoke up first. “Eugene does not comply with the ‘Decent Fucking Person Protocol’ which restricts racists, sexists and homophobes. He is no longer allowed in the building.”

Flash’s eyes went comically wide. “Wait, but I…” 

Mr. Harrington appeared to take pride in telling Flash he wasn't obeying the respect rules of the trip and that he would be sent home with several severe warnings. Flash looked like he was about to cry as the teacher escorted him to the elevator.

Not three seconds after they’d left, fog filled the room. The confused sounds of high schoolers who didn't know what was going on added a background track to Loki’s dramatic entrance. 

The fog cleared and Loki smirked at the crowd. 

“Hi, Loki!” Peter said. Though he knew Loki would find a way to embarrass him, he couldn't forget his manners. “What pronouns right now?”

“He/him, thank you for asking,” Loki replied. 

Betty’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “You’re…?” 

“Genderfluid,” Loki answered the unspoken question. 

“That's awesome, Loki,” she said. 

He smiled. “Are all of your companions this nice, young Peter?”

Peter hummed. “We just got rid of the only shitty one.” 

\---

The door of the training deck swung open with a familiar clang. In the center, Black Widow and Hawkeye were sparring. Kate Bishop sat on a bench nearby, throwing individual pieces of popcorn into her mouth with a bored expression.

As Harley explained how the training deck operated, Peter slid into place beside Kate. She had a great view. He stole a few pieces of popcorn. 

“Hiya Petes,” Kate smirked. “How are you today?”

“Awful, and you know it.” 

She beamed. Kate was evil, totally and completely evil. Lucky, however, wasn’t. He sat by her feet. Peter gave the dog a few scratches behind the ears and his tail thumped happily. 

“You’re the only one who respects me,” he told Lucky. 

“Great job Hawkeye!” Kate yelled teasingly. 

“No thanks to you, Hawkeye,” Clint replied as he walked towards the two kids and the dog. He rolled his eyes at Kate, who raised her hands as if to say ‘Your fight, not mine.’ 

“Were you the one singing Country Roads in the vents earlier?” Peter interrupted. He already knew the answer. 

Clint nodded. “And then Old Town Road. I was really feeling the country today.”

Lucky circled around his legs as he walked into the change rooms. Peter turned to see his entire class watching the dog and hero go by. 

“Hi, Little Spider,” Natasha said, coming up to him. 

“Hey, Big Spider,” he replied. 

“Do you have some spare time for a little defense lesson?” Nat asked Harley. When he nodded, she smiled and rolled up her sleeves. 

Nat instructed the class on how to throw a proper punch, and what to do in a dangerous situation. 

“It’s not typical, but for today, I’ll give a little demonstration with someone who I know will be able to hold his own,” she began. Peter tensed. “Peter, why don't you come spar?”

He groaned but nodded. Peter didn't like to refuse Nat, and the training decks were so nice after all… he stepped onto the mat and rolled up his sleeves. 

Peter threw the first punch, but Nat caught it and countered with a kick. Using his spidey sense, Peter had anticipated the move and already shifted to the right. He gritted his teeth and twisted, kicking several times in rapid succession. One landed, but Nat quickly got back up again and backhanded him. Peter whirled around and threw a punch in her direction before he was distracted. 

The door of the changeroom swung open, and Rhodey emerged to watch the fight. 

“Focus!” Aunt Nat shouted at him. Peter clenched his fists and caught her next punch, pulling her arm until she had fallen. He held her there and placed his elbow at her neck, catching his breath.

“You let me win,” he complained quietly. She smirked in reply. 

“Maybe I did. They wouldn't know the difference.” 

He stood up and offered her a hand. Nat smiled at him in return, taking it to get up.

Peter waved at Rhodey as he stepped off the mat. Rhodey, however, was going up to Shuri.

“I need to ask you for a favour that I don't deserve, but we all need,” he said. 

Shuri tilted her head, a little like a confused puppy. “What is it?”

Rhodey, wordless, held up a computer. It was open to the Stark Industries website. 

“Please…” he gasped, through tears of laughter. “Please change every instance of Stark to Stank.”

“Gimme a few minutes,” Shuri replied, grinning with vindication. She cracked her knuckles and started typing.

“Hi, Mr. Rhodes!” Peter said. Rhodey turned to him with a smile.

“Hey kiddo! Good job fighting Nat up there.” 

He thanked Rhodey, but before they could continue talking, Shuri completed her sacred duty. 

The computer displayed the Stank Industries Website. It was beautiful. 

\---

“Finally, we’ll end the tour with a word from Tony Stark and Pepper Potts themselves!” Harley declared. Peter sighed and begrudgingly trailed after his class into Mr. Stark’s main lab. 

Tony Stark, the root of all evil, the bastard himself, the devil, the cruellest villain Peter had ever faced… immediately gave everybody cupcakes and started to explain time travel to them. 

“So nothing would actually change if you went back in time?” Cindy asked, picking at a red velvet cupcake. Peter, who had already inhaled his, stared enviously at the others.

Tony seemed to ponder the question. Before he could answer, Dr. Strange entered the room. He was levitating a cup of coffee and a book over his left and right hands respectively.

“Hi Dr. Wizard!” Peter said. He liked to mess with Dr. Strange by calling him that.

“Peter, for the last time, it's Dr. Strange,” he said, fingers finding his temples. 

Peter beamed and waved as Dr. Strange left the room to go read his book. The AcaDeca had already seen so much that they didn't even give him weird looks anymore. 

Tony was finally about to answer Cindy’s question when Pepper entered the room, Morgan on her hip. 

She immediately gained the attention of the AcaDeca team. Pepper Potts-Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, the single most powerful person in the room… she knew how to draw a crowd. 

“Hey, Peter,” she said to Peter, messing up his hair.

“Hi, Peter!” Morgan shouted. She ran and jumped straight into his arms. 

“Hi, Morgan!” he replied, spinning her around a little.

Morgan greeted Harley as well, but that interaction was completely missed by the AcaDeca team, whose focus was already on Pepper. 

Pepper smiled at the team. “Hello, everyone. You must be Peter’s Academic Decathlon Team. I’ve heard so much about you!” 

Peter sighed, massaging his temples. The whole team was gaping at Pepper (and also Peter) in a bizarre mixture of pure awe and confusion. 

“I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour of Stark Industries,” Pepper continued. “Feel free to ask questions.” 

Voices began to overlap, everyone desperate to know everything about Pepper, Stark Industries and the Avengers. Peter drifted back and laced his fingers together with Harley’s.

“Not so bad, huh, darlin’?” Harley smirked, tilting his head so his ponytail would swish oh so charmingly.

Peter rolled his eyes but gave Harley a little kiss on the cheek. “Not as bad as I thought, no.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me in [hell](https://high-quality-not.tumblr.com/) (aka tumblr)
> 
> anyway yeah. so that was it! just a cute little one-shot. 
> 
> i want captain marvel to give ME a juice box
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
